Friday, January 20, 2017

Stories I Want to Write (Sometime)

So, I sort of didn't manage to mention this earlier, but I finished Fight Song! I wrote the final words a week ago, in the not-quite-an-hour between breakfast and my first class of the day. I'm fairly pleased with how it turned out; it'll need some editing, but it's not bad. I hope to start editing it around the end of the month, and I'll probably post it on here as I do.

For now, though, I'm taking some time to focus on editing Destinies and Decisions, including writing in an additional subplot at the advice of a friend. (By the by, I'm writing it on EverNote on my new phone. I love my new phone, for the record, especially since it has a keyboard large enough for me to type pretty comfortably. And EverNote has italics, which is a stupid thing to be excited about, but I used to have to write in Notepad if I wanted to write on my phone, and so there were no italics and that made it hard to write anything.) Anyway- besides working on old projects, I'm also thinking about new ones. True, I don't think I'll start a new story for a while. But the more excited I am for the story when I start it, the better it'll go. And, tonight, I thought I'd share some of my ideas with y'all.

Stories I Want to Write (Sometime)

  1. A story where the rebellion is actually the wrong side . . . and the characters don't realize it until it's (almost) too late. I don't know if you've noticed this or not, but rebellions and revolutions in fantasy books almost always seem to be more American than French, at least as far as I've seen. If the revolution isn't considered a good thing, that's generally because it was sparked by an outside force- generally a Dark Lord- and the main characters almost always see that it's wrong right off. But I think it would be interesting to have characters get caught up in a revolution that seems like a good idea at the start, but quickly takes a turn for the worse. How would they react? How far would they go? Would they realize what was going on? How long would they try to justify the leaders' actions? And what would they do when they couldn't justify those actions any longer, assuming they reach that point?
  2. A fantasy-murder mystery with a hearty dose of political intrigue. This would undoubtedly be heavily influenced by the Queen's Thief series, since that's where I got the inspiration. Well, technically, I got the inspiration from a daydream that partially came out of the series, but still. I actually have a bit of random scribbling that could be easily turned into chapter one, if I should so desire. The main reason I haven't written this is that it would take a great deal of planning and plotting and research, all things which are more than a little bit intimidating to me right now.
  3. A superhero slice-of-life story or series of one-shots. I got the idea for this last semester, I think while I was chatting with some of my friends about what superpower we'd each want . . . It would be sort of like the Teenage Superhero Society, but with more emphasis on daily life and less emphasis on Becoming Heroes and Defeating Villains- things like a telepath being lazy and using her powers to pull the bag of chips to her, or a time manipulator freezing time right before a test so he can scan his notes one more time, or a telepath wrestling with the temptation to cheat on that same test. You get the idea. Basically, I just want to write about what teenage/college-aged supers do when they're not, y'know, being heroes. The problem is that there would literally be no plot which is why I should probably just write a series of one-shots and leave it at that, but my brain generally doesn't work that way. (Actually, this could extend to urban fantasy slice-of-life in general, not just superhero, but the point remains.)
  4. Evil Rapunzel. What if the witch or fairy or whoever imprisoned Rapunzel wasn't the villain? What if she had a really good reason to take Rapunzel from her parents- a reason that had to do with protecting the world? What if Rapunzel wasn't actually imprisoned as young as the story says at all; what if she was imprisoned later on, for a very legitimate reason, and the story we've all been told is something she made up? What if all that's true? And then- what happens when a well-meaning prince stops by and helps her escape?
  5. A Between Two Worlds sequel focusing more on Kate's sister. I have some idea of what I'd do for this. Like Between Two Worlds itself, what I'm thinking would be drawn from random daydreams- these ones mostly based on combination between a webcomic I read a while back and Heather Dixon's Entwined- but while I know some things, I don't know enough to pull it off. Like, I know that a lot of the conflict will stem from Ella missing Kate and feeling left out of all the adventures and making a few bad choices as a result of that, and I know a considerable amount about the villain, but I still need something to tie all the pieces together. Also, it would be a rather darker story than Between Two Worlds was, so I'm not sure if I'm ready in that respect either.
What about you? What do you think of my ideas? And what are some stories you'd like to write but haven't gotten to yet? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)   

12 comments:

  1. :O You're writing an entire subplot on a phone? I feel so sorry for you.

    #1 and #4 sound really interesting. Number 1 sounds like it could belong in a swashbuckling sort of story, like the Westmark trilogy or the Princess Bride.

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    1. Not an entire subplot. Just certain chapters of it, because it's more accessible that way. If and when I have time to sit down and write a whole chapter at once, I'm more likely to use my notebook, but my phone lets me get down a few sentences between classes or while I'm waiting in line.

      Thank you! And I hadn't thought about taking that route with it . . .

      Thanks for commenting!

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  2. Gotta love those plotbunnies, eh?

    #1, #2, and #4 sound especially interesting! But, of course, they all sound so cool.

    Congratulations on finishing Fight Song!

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    1. Definitely, particularly when they hold still long enough to be caught.

      Thanks, and thanks again!

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  3. I'd be most excited about #1 I think. To be drunk with the idea of being part of a movement, to challenge the authority and then realise "actually No, this is evil." To then have to not only leave the movement but then also switch sides, convincing your old enemies that you've seen the error of your ways. It could be really interesting!

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    1. Thanks! And that's about what I was thinking- lots of space for drama and conflict and all that good stuff. Plus some interesting character interaction, depending on the views of the supporting characters . . .

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  4. These ideas sound great! The first one reminds me of what I was trying to do with that age-old abandoned Legend of Korra fanfic, about a Water Tribe girl who joined the Equalist cause without realizing how terrible they would become. I never followed it though, but it seems like that same kind of story line has a lot of potential. You should definitely go through with it!

    I also really like the sound of the super her slice of life story. I have a super hero series in the works myself, but since I'll have to devout most of my characters' engergies to saving the world, there will be little time to glimpse everyday life.

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    1. Thanks! Didn't you post some of that fanfic on the UG or your blog or somewhere? I feel like I remember reading it . . .

      Thank you! I'm glad that someone other than me thinks that would be fun. And yeah, most stories do tend to not have much room for life as usual.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. This is aaaawesome. I'm particularly loving your Rupunzel idea! I actually really like when books put spins on retellings like that! Like the person-who-should've-been-good-is-bad or gender bending or setting it in a different era. IT'S SO CLEVER AND EXCITING!! And I also think the superheroes-doing-normal-stuff would be amazing. You should definitely write aaall the things someday. ;)

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    1. Thank you! I'm surprised by how many people like the Rapunzel one. :D Depending on how things turn out, I may be writing that one quite soon . . . And yay, another person who likes the superheroes-doing-normal stuff idea. :D

      Thanks again!

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  6. DUDE. I WANT STORY IDEAS ONE AND FOUR IMMEDIATELY. o.o Just... seriously. I will be your biggest cheerleader if you are to write one of these. (especially the rapunzel one. that sounds so cooool.)

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    1. Thank you! I'm super glad you like them! Both of those are potentially looking likely sometime soon, so . . . we'll see? Anyway. Thanks again!

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I'd love to hear your thoughts! But remember: it pays to be polite to dragons.